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A gauge of Nigeria’s biggest banks dropped the most since July after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) raised the amount of capital lenders must set aside as a buffer against shocks, threatening to curb profit.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange Banking 10 Index retreated 2.8 percent to 438.68 on Wednesday in Lagos. The 193-member NSE All-Share Index declined 0.7 percent.
Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, the nation’s biggest lender by market value, declined as much as 5.2 percent and traded 2.9 percent lower at 27.99 naira, giving it a value of 823.8 billion naira. Skye Bank Plc (SKYEBANK) declined 8.9 percent to 4.01 naira, the most since June 24, Bloomberg reported.
The CBN increased the amount of federal, state and local government deposits that must be held as cash to 75 percent from 50 percent, Governor Lamido Sanusi said yesterday, warning about risks to price stability from excess liquidity in banks.
The regulator left its benchmark interest rate at a record high of 12 percent to bolster the naira, which has weakened 2.1 percent since the start of 2012.
